To travel you do not have to wait for the time you go on vacation. Even on a workweek, there is a time for a trip. To diversify your weekends and to get new impressions and emotions you can make a fantastic trip embracing our programme "short breaks".

Take your friends or family, choose up to three cities you want to visit and make a fabulous journey. In this weekend tour, you can stay for a one or two nights in the places you have chosen. You can be on excursions exploring and admiring the cities during the whole day and enjoy breathtaking views of the places recollecting bright moments of your trip at night. From dawn till night you will be able to see how the cities and everything around you change. Morning day will present the architecture and the landscape in sunlight glory while night will show transformed buildings and streets sinking in illumination.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to souvenirs from Russia? Of course, it is matryoshka, balalaika, vodka and caviar. Oh, and a hat with ear flaps as well! However, the ear flap hat is now in vogue, and has ceased to be such a rarity, vodka can be bought almost anywhere in the world.

Numerous souvenir shops are vying to sell magnets, mugs and T-shirts with slogans and thematic images (flag and coat of arms of Russia, funny sayings, bears, portraits of politicians and well-known writers), sailor's striped vests, as well as handicrafts. Khokhloma, Gzhel, enamel, birch amulets and Vologda lacework… the assortment is huge! But when you make purchases, don’t lower your guard.
Some unscrupulous sellers may try to sell you cheaper and substandard imitations. Of course, most of the shops have certificates for their goods and buy them directly from factories and workshops.
To help you not to get lost in all this colorful variety and tell how and where it is better to buy particular products, we have prepared separate articles for you on Russian folk crafts.

It makes sense to look for more valuable and rare souvenirs in antique shops.
Old coins, porcelain figurines of the Soviet era, icons, clocks, badges, decorations - one does not know where to look first!
But even here there are potential pitfalls. Apart from the fact that the seller may seriously inflate the price of what you want to buy, arguing that it is older or more valuable than it really is, there may be problems taking it out of the country.

As of today, it is prohibited to take any items of cultural value (books, figurines, icons, pictures, etc.), created prior to January 1, 1964 out of the country.

Important note: items of cultural value do not include cultural goods of serial and mass production, or modern souvenirs.

However, sometimes even an item of mass production manufactured over fifty years ago may attract the close attention of the customs service. If you want to protect yourself from unforeseen delays and undesired proceedings (the item is likely to stay with you, which, alas, cannot be said of your nerve cells), you can send the purchase to your own address by mail, after packing it carefully to avoid damage. Make sure that the package has a warning sign if the item is fragile.

Are you a little confused with all this information? Our team members are always ready to help you navigate all the rules, addresses, products and prices!

You will definitely find something to your liking and within your budget with all the variety of great Russian souvenirs!

Artistic carving of animal bones

Artistic carving of animal bones - one of the oldest art forms, practiced since prehistoric times.
In Russia, there are various centers involved in the artistic carving of animal bones.

The oldest of them is located in the Chukchi village of Uelen in the Chukotka Autonomous District. Despite the fact that the center of the development of handicrafts "Uelen Bone Carving Workshop" itself was created only in 1931, the Chukchi and the Eskimos have been carving bones and walrus tusks almost since the moment of their emergence. Thus, the handicraft is as old as those Peoples, it is incredibly ancient.

Initially, it was considered to be a uniquely male profession, but later girls were allowed to work in the workshops.

Products are made from walrus tusks and whale bones collected on the coast. The main motifs are hunting scenes, characters and scenes from folk tales of the peoples of the north, and scenes of everyday life.

Magadan bone carving factory creates its products from mammoth bones, walrus tusks and deer antlers. Those are 3D statuettes representing animals and scenes of the everyday life of the people of the North, chess sets, trinkets, decorations and colored engravings on walrus tusks.

Yakut carved bone handicraft has been known since the 18th century, but the products from the Republic of Sakha enjoy well-deserved fame and have received a considerable number of awards at exhibitions. Basically, there are animalistic statues and hunting scenes as well, handles of bladed weapons decorated with elaborate carvings, and utilitarian objects - skladni (wing icons), chorons and more.

Kholmogory
bone carving is also widely known. The handicraft emerged in the 18th
century in the villages of the Kholmogory District, the Arkhangelsk Oblast, one of which gave Russia a scientist as prominent as Mikhail Lomonosov. The craft still exists today. The craftsmen carve walrus tusks, mammoth bones, and the bones of domesticated animals. The art itself is an unusual mixture of West Slavic, German, Dutch and northern Russian techniques and traditions.

The creations of the Kholmogory craftsmen typically represent vegetative ornaments of leaves, berries, branches and tendrils, resembling the shape of sea shells - rocaille. Their distinctive feature is the use of colored engraving or colored foil, but this is not applicable for all products.

As for what they make, there are combs, dishes, boxes and chests, figures of animals and scenes from the life of the people of the north.